10 PRECIOUS SECONDS

Not everyone can afford the insurance to jump to a sportsbike from 125, but good things still come in small packages. Half the costs can mean twice the fun.

Small bikes. Shite, aren't they? Simply a stepping stone to bigger, better things, then why is it that we remember smaller capacity machines with affection? Is it simply nostalgia and rose tinted visors? Or do they really offer more bangs for fewer bucks? It certainly seems that some manufacturers still see the smaller capacity classes are worth of looking at on the new bike front.

New lunches this season from BMW, Honda, Kawasaki, Suzuki and Yamaha augment the updates to ol' perennials like the CB600F Hornet, FZ6, Fazer family and Kawasaki's fun ER-6 models. With this mind, we put our heads together to come up with the best, used snakk capacity 'second bikes' that will give you values from money smiles all year round.


1. KAWASAKI ER-6F/N

Proof that the parallel twin doesn't have to have 'Triumph' on the tank. One of sweetest bikes out there is the ER-6 family. You can rag these things and enjoy it just stick some money aside for some 'sorted' suspension (Hagon do some great fork internals and springs) and you can really enjoy this bike. After all, a 120mph top end and 70bhp are enough for most people, while being sufficiently user-friendly for newbies. Build quality is better than on most older Kawasaki too..

Other twins worth a look include the CB500, the bike that James Toseland cut his racing teeth on. Alternative sub-700cc Kawasakis include the venerable (and softly sprung) ZZ-R600 and the first couple of generations of pre-636 ZX-6R, which if looked after offer plenty of thrills from decade old technology.

Pros : A lot of bike for the money; good fun; cheap to run.

Cons: Look are a bit different on the 'n' with the 'f' being a lot more attractive. Can run out of puff when you get used to it.


2. HONDA HORNET (1998-2005)

'Cult' is an often-over-used word in biking cirles, but within a year or so its 1998 release, the Hornet became one. Like the 250/350LC before it, the Hornet became the darling of new riders, shorties and ladies alike, spawning a host of specials and aftermarket bits. The motor is a peaky 90bhp or so, compared to the Fazer's torquey 80-85bhp, but unless you go for the half faired 'S' you'll find that anything over 80mph will be a pain anyway. The chassis is capable. if budget, although the brakes could do with a bit more. Later version went to 17-inch front wheel and from 2003, sexy upside-down forks.

Pros: Plenty around; it's a cult bike

Cons: Not as well finished as many Hondas. Not very well equiped compared to the opposition. One trip, that's it....


3. YAMAHA FAZER 600 (1995-2004)

So good to bought one. As did Big Al. We're talking the Thundercat powered Fazer here, not the later buzzy R6 powered affair. You've got a perfectly carburated motor, awesome brakes from the early R1 (clean those calipers with regular winter use, mind) and lots of features you'd find on bigger bikes (two trips, fuel gauge, clock, hazzards, center-stand, underseat storage and decent pillion.) Performance is superb and it's a chassis that handles, albeit with soft, budget suspension. Looks were questionable, even back then, but they grow on you.

Pros.: Cheap and most definitely cheerful. Performance per money.

Cons: Can get tatty quickly; engine paint flakes; exhaust downpipes rot.


4. CAGIVA RAPTOR 650

Even as a second, smaller bike, you can do with a bit of exotica, yeah? Well, how's this then-the first incarnation of the Raptor 650 and V-Raptor for around 1,500 euro? Solid Suzuki motor in styling that's just that bit different. Some tasteful extras (along with industrial-strength WD-40) should see it look nice and stay nice. The motor is solid in this, but buy a good version and you'll have something fresher than a wet cow turd, with just as many flies sticking to it in summer. Lovely. Other machunes in this class to consider include Suzuki's excellent SV650 and Ducati Monster M620

Pros: Look good; just a little bit different

Cons: Finish is shite on some and plastics/metal bits can deteriorate quickly if not looked after.


5. SUZUKI DL650 V-STORM

Yes, it looks just like its dull big brother, but hold those horses. This is BRILLIANT bike. Did I really use caps then? OK sorry. But hear me out. This really does make for an excellent second bike and winter hack. The SV650 motor is well used in this machine and pulls the bulk well only the addition of luggage and a lardy pillion sees this thing wanting. Solo, there's plenty of go, with the motor re-tuned for around 60bhp, not the 70 or so of the original SV. It's the undisputed decathleteof this top 10, albeit a quite ugly one.

Pros: Lots of bike for the money; comfy; pretty good two-up

Cons: Smashed into and uprooted the gnarly ugly tree


6. HONDA RVF400 NC45

The RVF ages well (the oldest are around 13 years young now) but it needs to be looked after well on the servicing front. Sounds wonderful and has the mid-range of bikes, happy in the knowledge that, unlike most 400cc sports machines, many NC45 owners rarely adorn it with pointless baubles or Maltese Cross rear lights. Honourable mentions must be made of following: Kawasaki's ZXr400 still look fantastic and was around for so many years there's one for every budget. Watch out for ex-rookies 400 race bikes, mind. Honda's inline four CBR Baby-Blades are nice but not as well put together as the RVFs.

Pros: Stunning to look at; goes well; sound better.

Cons: Servicing costs; shagged shocks by now; hard to find a really good one; pricey, still....


7. APRILIA RS250 / SUZUKI RGV250 (1994-2004)

We know they're two different bikes, but they both share that lovely Suzuki 90-degree two stroke motor and are a nice way to own a smaller, second 'classic' stroke.

The 'Priller' was around from 1994 to 2004, so there's still some low-ish mileage ones out there. All models used a breathed on Suzuki RGV250 lump, producing around 52 real-world bhp. On the tacho, like builders, nothing much happens before seven and the real work us done by about eleven.

If you must have a RGV, then it's best to simply find the latest and last of the old 90-degree models you can, like the RGV250S or T and ignore the hideous shell suit graphic. The 1991 SP with black number boards is sought after, while the banana swing arm M and Ns are the "classic" ones to go for.

Pros: Beautiful, even the Suzuki. Persuade the other half that it's a "classic". A real slice of biking history.

Cons: Most are old now and ratty. And have imploded. Impractical as a second bike in many ways.


8. SUZUKI BANDIT 600 (1995-2004)

We had to have the original in here, didn't we? When realised back in 1995, the Bandit was cool and looked mean. Now it's almost the pipe and slippers machine of the naked middle weight pack but this makes it bargain, as you can pick one up for as little as 800 euro. Mechanically realiable, the only thing questionable about the earlier Bandits is the finish: engine paint flakes, frame welds can rot as can exhaust welds, downpipes, fasteners and every nut and bolt attached thereon. If you can find a well looked after one, nab it. Back in the day, the performance of Bandit was more than enough, but now the 600cc machine has been left behind. Still, for bugger-all money ain't to be sniffed at.

Pros: Thousand out there; cheap

Cons: Hard to find a good one; they rot; performance isn't as hot as the rest.


9. 404 ENDURO DS

A few years ago people were claiming that this here 'Dual Sport' was the best CCM ever. And it's still worth a look as a second bike. Why? Well, you'veeffectively got two bikes in one. Thanks to the two sets of wheels. Slot in the knobblies and you too can be as happy as pig in shit on Sundays, while it can commute you to work during the week with the smart looking road wheels. Motive power thankfully road wheels. Motive power thankfully comes from Suzuki's well proven DR-Z400 lump which gives a respectable 39bhp. The only problem was a constantly weak of battery.

Pros: Two bikes in one. Look better than DR-Z...

Cons: You need to look after it, the finish isn't the best (but better than older CCMz) and make sure you keep the battery on trickle charge.


10. HYOSUNG GT650 COMET

The GT650 Comet is essentially an SV650 from somewhere else. Kinda. The motor is built in Japan, sharing a very similar design to that of the SV650, although the two are not identical. The savingsyou're making by buying one of these comes from a lack of fule injection. Finish isn't quite on a par with a Japanese bike and it's just not cool to tell the girl in the nightclub that you own a Hyosung, is it? But look at the prices. Used, you can get a used GT650 Comet with under 10k on the clocks for under two grand. There's also a sportier 'R' version with full-fairing that actually looks quite nice.

Pros: Cheap new, cheap used

Cons: It isn't Japanese, it isn't Italian, it isn't British. It's Korean...

SUZUKI GSX-R1000 K7

Suzuki mission with the new GSX-R1000 was to produce the maximum joy or riding'. Two-wheeled ectasy with senses fried to the point of overload. Want some?

"Since the current GSX-R1000 bloodline was introduced with the K1 model, Suzuki's flagship has ruled the litre sportsbike roost more or less untroubled"

"The changes have made the Suzuki more stable without sacrificing the old bike's sharp handling"

About that 'power toggle'

Suzuki's new power band selector has three settings; Fast, faster and 'fuck me where are the brakes.' But is it any good?

The C map - basically turning the bike into a 600 - feels like a joke after the A and B settings, but the B map probably has real merit. Basically, up to around 9,000rpm, the power delivery is softened, at which point the fult-fat, full power surge comes in. It's noticeable, but not like a power-band jump. lio-san insisted that they were designed for racers to use when their tyres were shagged. but former Australian superbike champion Shawn Giles reckoned that with the B'map, coming out of slower corners was easier because you could be a lot bolder on the throttle with less risk of a highside. Sounds good - as Long as your brain can over-ride your survival instinct! I suspect that psychologically, riding on pissing wet and cold British days, flicking onto B or C mode might be a comfort....

Looking at the facts, it would be easy to get carried away. Scratch that. It would be very, very easy to get carried away by the circumstances and surroundings of the bike. Since the current GSX-R1000 bloodline was introduced in 2001 with the K1 model, Suzuki’s flagship has ruled the litre sportsbike roost more or less untroubled In 2002, the sleek, compact looks a refined chassis of Yamaha’s R1 briefly upset the apple cart, but since then, nothing has come close to toppling the Suzuki. With an awe-inspiring power plant and nimble chassis, the K5 GSX-R1000 is current king of the litre supersport hill. It’s number one by a margin does Suzuki have to try at all?

Needless development?
Inevitably Suzuki, in the shape of GSX-R project leader Hiroshi lio has rolled out this new bike, although it has to be said straight away that the K7 is not the massive dynamic leap forward that the preceding K5 model was. Indeed you can speculate if Suzuki needed to introduce this model to stay ahead in the 1,000cc class, since the K5 is still better than the rest of the new contenders. I could be wrong, but I’d be happy to take bets…

The fact that the bike is now six kilos heavier and, frankly, uglier than the previous model. The disfiguring twin exhaust and pigiron litter-tray that masquerades as a catalyser are plain ugly but we can blame the tree huggers for braconian emissions regulations. The new R1 is heavier too, although the 2007 Honda CBR600RR is six kilos lighter, so maybe the emissions ‘problem’ isn’t as straightforward as it seems.

The good news is that You can't see those exhausts when you're on the bike and you can't see them from most angles off the bike either. Besides which, Yoshimura has already developed a MotoGP-style race exhaust for superbike race teams in the USA and Australia, so guess which way the aesthetic wind is blowing? Otherwise the bike looks every bit as sleek as the model it replaces.

But looks are only skin deep and there's a lot more to the K7 than compromises to comply with emissions regulations. Under the skin, there are all manner of tweaks and changes and Suzuki says that we're going to experience maximum riding joy on a better bike. Better? Better how?

How about better because it handles better? Forget the power toggle thing for a minute (a marketing dream - three bikes for the price of one! Buy one get two free!), because the fact is that the changes made to the bike in terms of a longer swinging arm, longer wheelbase and slightly 'slacker' steering geometry have made the Suzuki more stable without sacrificing any of the old bike's sharp handling.

Corner composure
For example? When yo u're accelerating hard out of the uphill Siberia bend the Tarmac is bumpy, yet the GSX-R remains perfectly composed, with nary a shake of its head. In addition, at the heavy braking area into the, ahem, Honda hairpin, there was little, if any, fishtailing from the rear, in spite of braking from fourth, downhill, down two gears into second. True, the howling tail wind caught me out a couple of times, but the brakes are unchanged save for a couple of extra disc bolts.

And, speaking of crashing down the gears, hats should be doffed in the direction of the stipper clutch designers. The best that can be said of a slipper clutch on a bike is that you forget it's there,

The engine may not have undergone radical changes, but it screams at you and demands to he noticed

you simply use it and get on with getting your corner entry speed spot-on, safe in the knowledge that the stipper clutch will keep everything in line. The clutch is also a new hydraulic mechanism rather than the cable type on last year's model. According to boffins this means it's less likely to play up and start slipping with heavy use.

Sensitive suspension
And, talking of no time to test stuff fully, there's new high and tow-speed damping on both fork and rear suspension. For what it's worth, the few minor changes from standard I asked for (a bit more rebound damping. a bit more Low-speed compression damping and a bit less preload) att had a noticeabLe effect on handling, which is a good sign, given the minor nature of the changes.

The engine may not have undergone radical changes, but it screams at you and demands to be noticed. There may have been a trim of the midrange, but it was never lacking anyway. For all that Phillip Island is a flowing track, there are still a couple of places where you can experience spine compressing acceleration, the sort of propulsion that stretches arms and pushes you to the back of the seat.

On the exit of the 'H' hairpin, charging towards Siberia, straightlining a kink and on the throttle in second,, you've got to hold on to the bars and haul your arse forward to make sure you don't slide off the back of the bike. A few bends later, on the exit of one of the most exciting corners in the world - onto the start finish straight - another visceral thrill hits you. Pinning the throttle and snicking the gears through fourth and into fifth on a downhill piece of tarmac that Looks like a runway carrying you straight to the ocean, the start grid strips flying past your eyes like a Star Trek warp drive effect. The pressure difference inside your helmet makes your ears pop, but tuck in and look for the 100-meter marker. It takes your breath away.

Power options
And then, in case the 'basic' package isn't enough, there's the Suzuki Drive Mode Selector (SDIVIS) to consider. A toggle switch next to the twist grip offers three modes' which offer full power (A model; the same peak power but with a 'softer' power delivery up to around 9-10,000rpm (B mode) and finally C mode, which is basically 70 per cent of the power throughout the rev range.

So, in the end, has Suzuki delivered two wheeled, in-line four ecstasy - or 'maximum joy' as they put it? Obviously if you fancy a litre class sports bike, you'd be crazy not to consider this (or the K5). A bike which offers you more power than you'll probably need while giving you the confidence that you can cope with it anyway is a hell of a machine. An awesome engine in a sweet, sweet handling chassis is a wonderful thing, but make sure you're paying attention, because this bike goes from smooth screamer to 175mph in a very short space of time.

Suzuki has never made a bad GSX-R and the K7 isn't going to change that. And yet, and yet ... the K5 model that this bike replaces is still a phenomenal machine and, given that you'll be able to get one new for around E2,000 less than a new K7, you have to ask - would I part with the extra cash? Could I live without the power toggle switch, the upgraded suspension and an electronic steering damper? For E2,000 less you'll get a bit Less power, lose six kilos and one pig-awful exhaust. It's not as clear cut as it appears but that's Suzuki's fault for making such a great K5 model!.

The new tyres Bridgestone BT-015
Japanese tyre firm Bridgestone has developed a new tyre for the K7 in the shape of a BT-015. Yes, the BT-015 already exists but not in this configuration. To be precise, there's a new compound, carcass and profile on the front tyre and a new bigger shoulder on the rear, albeit with the same compound as is found on the BT-015 designed for the current Honda Fireblade.

SUZUKI GSX-R1000 K7

EXHAUSTS
The inlet and exhaust ports have been increased in size, following race bike developments and there's a slightly higher exhaust valve lift too. Say hello to more top end at higher revs, say goodbye to a bit of mid range power. Peak power is now at 12,000rpm rather than 11,000rpm as on the K5.

PISTONS
It's not flashy but Suzuki has reduced the pumping pressure caused by the returning piston by increasing the size of ventilation holes in the cylinders from 39mm to 48mm. It sounds dull, but this improves mechanical efficiency and adds power. See, that sounds sexier, doesn't it?.

FRAME
Now comprised of only fivr cast aluminium alloy sections and this smaller number mean less welding, more strength and lighter weight overall.

GEOMETRY
The bike now has a longer swinging arm, with a longer wheelbase. It's also got slightly slacker steering geometry, with trail increased to 98mm from 96mm on the K5. And it's a bit wider too, 10mm up on the previous model.

DAMPER
The Kayaba unit is now electronically controlled. Which is to say that clever ECU/computer chip calculates how much damping is applied, based on speed and gear and revs. An improvement.

INSTRUMENTS
In addition to the easy to read gear indicator, the instrument panel now tells you which fuel map you are on. 'A' means full power; 'B'means you've opted to turn into a 750 in the midrange, with a softer power delivery up to the same maximum power. And finally there 'C' for 'Cissy' because you've just turned the best 1,000cc inline four engine on the planet into a gutless 600cc lump. Shame on you, you big girl's blouse, you're riding with 30% of the engine's power lopped off.

SWINGING ARM
Now 10mm longer, made from die-cast aluminium alloy rather than the stamped construction of the K5 bike. Curiously, in spite of the fact it's longer, it's also lighter by 200 grams.

ENGINE MODS
There aren't many, and none are radical, but they've been done for a reason. The Keihin fuel injectors now have 12 holes per nozzle rather than the previous four, improving fuel atomisation. They're also more compact and point the throttle body at a 'better' angle, positioned downwards at 30 degree.

FOOTPEGS
Now come with three position options in a 14mm range, the same as the design introduced last year on the GSX-R600/750 bikes.


SPECIFICATIONS

Engine
Type: Inline four , I/c DOHC
Displacement: 999cc
Bore x Stroke: 73.4mm x 59mm
Compression: 12.5:1
Carburation: Fuel injection
Gearbox: 6 speed constant mesh
Power: 182bhp@12,000rpm
Torque: 86lbf ft@10,000rpm

Cycle Parts
Chassis: Twin-spar (aluminium alloy)
Suspension:
(Front) USD fully adjustable, rebound and pompression damping force fully adjustable
(Rear) Link type Fully adjustable compression and rebound

Brakes:
(Front) Dual radial mount, four-piston calipers, 310mm disc
(Rear) Single piston caliper, 220mm disc

Wheels/Tyres:

cast aluminium alloy/Bridgestone BT015
(Front) 120/70ZR 17
(Rear) 190/50ZR 17

Rake/Trail: 23.8 degree /98 mm (3.9 in.)
Wheelbase: 1,415mm (55.7in.)
Capacity: 18 liters
Dry Weight: 172kg (379lbs)

GSX-R1000s TECHNOLOGY

It' s classic Sci-Fi; man creates artificially intelligent technology, intelligent technology tries to destroy man. Motorcycles may not be that intelligent yet, but they're getting smarter. Should we be worried?

At what point does the technology driving our bikes become too much? Think back to the old days of iced or flooded carbs, misfires and broken HT leads the answer is probably not for a long time yet. In fact modern bikes are incredibly reliable even the italian ones work most of the time.

But if nothing else, sci-fi movies warn us that at some point the technology will get too smart. They may even wage war against man in a bid to avoid being used in winter. Or perhaps not.

Ok, so artificially intelligent GSX-R1000s may be a while off yet, but technology is moving on and when we stood back and looked, we realised BMW's HP2 Sport is probably the most technically advanced production bike around.

Which got us talking, as it should. We take a lot of the technology on modern bikes for granted and didn't understand all of it either, if were being really honest. So, inspired by the HP2 land 2001: A Space Odyssey), here's a look at some of the neat things technology's doing for us and our bikes.


WIRING LOOMS AND DATA-LOGGING

There's no question bikes are going to become even more sophislicated, The problem is this normally requires more sensors in order to make those decisions. In turn that requires more wiring, and with a standard wiring loom already weighing in the region of 1.5- 2kg and being quite bulky, manufacturers need to be careful not to offset the use of all that titanium.

One solution is to use a CAN based system. In fact several bikes already use this, including Ducati's 1098 and now the HP2 Sport. CAN stands for Controller Area Network, and describes a communication protocol or language if you like. What it means in simple terms is less wiring.

Rather than having a separate wire for each signal as we do now. CAN allows you to use two wires to carry many signals. but idenuyng packets of information and broadcasting them one at a time.

It's a bit like police radios. Everyone heres all the information being transmitted, but only responds when they're addressed directly. Equally, when they want to talk they identify themselves by their call-sign so everyone knows who's talking.

Lets talk
In a CAN system a pair of wires act as the walkie talkies and connect all the sensors, and each sensor is told to continually role in The ECU acts as HQ listening to everything and does what it needs to with the information So. taking the throttle position sensor as an example, a small chip reads its position, converts it into CAN information and waits until nothing else is talking before reporting in. The ECU hears the throttle position sensors call-sign, and then stores whatever value it reads out. Of course all the sensors are reporting in so fast that to humans it appears they're all talking at the same time (but they're not).

The HP2 Sport has two separate CAN buses [a bus being a set of conductors that carry data within a computer]. One carries the information to run the bike and ABS and the other simply re-broadcasts some of that information to be used for data-log-ging. It's the same on the Ducati 1098. If you know what call-signs you need, you simply tell the logger to record them it's a relatively simple system to make work if you've already got a working CAN system So expect to see more bikes using CAN and more with the option of data-logging if your simply plug in a recording device.

SMART ECU
In one sense ECUs are dumb because all they do is follow instructions. But their ability to perform fast calculations opens up a wordl of possibilities to engineers who can design algorithms to do clever things for us like closed looping.

Closed loop is a term you'll sometimes hear used when talking about fuel injection systems and it refers to a luel system that can automatically correct itself using a lambda O2 sensor. You see these fitted increasingly as OE to help optimise catalytic converters The 02 sensor sniffs the amount of oxygen in the hot exhaust gas and turns it into an electrical signal that can be read the ECU. If the mixture is rich (too much fue) there will be less oxygen and the signal will drop and vice versa.

'Cruise' control
Normally. the amount of fuel to be injected is read from a 'table stored in the ECU. These are programmed by the factory to a value they know will work. However. in closed Ioop mode the ECU works a little differently. First it injects the amount of fuel specified in the table according to things like throttle position and rpm then a short time later it reads the signal from the 02 sensor and compares that to a target value.

The target value can be anything but say it an air-to-fuel ratio of 13.4:1 (13.4 parts air to one part fuel [by weight]). If the reading from the 02 sensor shows the exhaust gases to be rich, the ECU knows whatever it injected last time was too much. By dividing the value measured by the 02 sensor by the target value, it's very easy to arrive at an approximate correction factor.

The ECU then applies this and opens the injector for the 'table value' multiplied by the 'correction factor'. In theory, the air-fuel ratio should now be correct. By doing this over and over the ECU should in theory be able to fuel perfectly all the time in practice though this isn't the case.

For various reasons, it's only possible/wise to close-loop fuel injection in stable condition called cruise. This doesn't refer to the speed of the bike, but more the fact that the rpm and throttle positions are fairly static. The time period can be anything over, say, 0.5 seconds. The reasons for this are varied, but at the highest level there is the amount of time it takes the O2 sensor to read the signal.

The most common use for closed loop systems today is fuel conservation. If you're holding a certain speed, it's possible to safely run the engine leaner than it you're accelerating hard, where a rich mixture is more beneficial. However, while it saves fuel it can also lead an engine to feel harsh and surge slightly. As soon as you break the cruise conditions, values are read once again from the main table.

An extra protection system on the rear of the HP2 Sport's cylinders are knock sensors These detect detonation - remember fuel in the cylinder normally burns (rather than exploding) from the spark plug. Detonation is when all the fuel ignites simultaneously, putting massive stresses on the piston. Too much detonation will cause the piston to fail either sooner or later although the higher the RON rating of the fuel the Less prone it is to detonation. The BMW requires 98RON rather than the 95RON of normal unleaded.

Knock sensors effectively look for severe shock, and if the ECU senses it, suggesting a risk of detonation, the ECU will retard the bike's ignition timing and also richen the mixture to try and prevent it. All of which means you can put normal unleaded in the HP2 Sport and all you should get is reduced performance. rather than a repair bill.

ABS
Old hat now, but a clever technology all the same. The wheel speed is read differently to normal. Rather than out-putting a square wave signal (digital), ABS sensors normally output an AC voltage sign wave (analogue) ranging from 2v-50v. The frequency rather than the voltage is used to calculate speed

ECU
This is a pretty ECU. Inside you'll find several high speed processors and the transistors required to switch the injectors and ignition coils. While these digital switches have no moving parts they effectively offer lots or no resistance. However, because they switch on and off so fast there is a short period where they do act as a resistor and that generates heat. Without a heat-sink the components will easily unsolder themselves.

ENGINE SENSORS
Here's where it gets really complex. Before you can even fit the most basic fuel injection system you really need a minimum of 5 sensors: crank speed, cam and throttle position, air temperature ab pressure. But if you want to get more advanced there's no limit how many sensors you require. Because the ECU relies on each sensor to help correct its decisions, a failure in any one can put it into 'safe' mode.

EXHAUST VALVE
By adjusting the back pressure and velocity of the exhaust gases, engineers have found an effective way to kill two birds with one big techno stick. As well as helping boost low-down power it also knocks a few dB off the peak noise level during noise tests.

'ANTI-STOPPIE'
A new addition to the ABS system is an anti-stoppie function. It's not really designed to stop you doing massive stoppies, but it will try to stop the rear wheel lifting during hard braking and uses a brake pressure sensors to decide when to kick-in.

QUICKSHIFTER
Fitted for the first time a s original equipment to this very bike, shifters are also getting smarter. This one has a selective cut based on how much load the engine is under and how fast the crank is spinning. It doesn't simply turn the ignition on and off either. It's cut out and faded in for smoother shifts.

LAMBDA SENSORS
Lambda or O2 sensors are increasingly fitted to fuel injected bikes. The ECU can use them to see how well the engine is being fuelled and adjust its self accordingly. It's also possible to get the gas temperature from them but it's not as accurate as proper thermocouple.

SMART DISPLAY

1. The humble LED in all its glory. New high intensity LEDs can even grab your attention when you're doing 150mph and think you're about to die. These are described as sequential and programmable because you tell each one when to switch on

2. See the black bar near 4,000rpm! It's there because the dash board knows the engine isn't up to temperature so rather than trusting you won't rev out of it just yet it brings this rev-limiting bar down. The lights are on for the same reason. Technology it spoils all the fun.

3. Note the Vmin and Vmax values. 'V' in this case stands for velocity. Whoever rode this bike ;ast reset the dash at standstill (hence Vmin=0km/h) and got up to 295km/h (or 181mph). You could reset it when you're rolling along to record your minimum speed.

4. The only real fixed things on this dash are shift lights, idiot lights and the RPM sweep. Most of the other information can be moved around by delving into the settings. Although this death is in race mode you can see someone has transposed the speed and gear number positions. That's great, so you have no idea what gear you're in because you can't see it, but at least you know how last you're going. Lucklly there's a reset to default option.

5. There's a button on the switch gear that allows you to switch modes and enter a shed load of settings. You can see this dash is in Race mode at the moment. Someone's also been checking their laptimes although they probably werwn't using the optional laptime receiver because a laptime of 8m34.50s is pretty poor. Mind you it was on lap 21, maybe the tyres had gone off.

It's the digital switch-over in bike dash form. Since manufacturers first started dumping cable operated speedos in the late 90's and moved over to digital tachometers, dashboards have been getting smaller, lighter and more daring in their layout. But they still generally looked like conventional dashboards until now.

To borrow a phrase from the aviation industry. BMW's HP2 Sport has a glass cockpit and a smart one at that. There isn't a single moving part yet it's capable of relying far more information than any production bike dash to date.

So xhat can this dash do that a normal set of clocks can't? It has to do the basics of course; RPM and speed and recording the bike's mileage. It also has the usual array of warning lights too, neutral, high beam indicators and so on but the similarities end there. We mentioned in the launch report that you can change the dashboard's configuration by pressing a switch and that's useful in itself.

Multiple Layout
Different information is important at different times. For road riding your speed is more important than gear position so it makes sense to be able to change this to suit and the HP2 Sports allows you to change between Road and Race configurations. In race mode things like laptime and gear position are given prominence over speed and time.

However in the future there's nothing to limit how many layout are available it just depends on how much information there is to present and how it's programmed. For instance they might display fuel consumption figures if you hold a certain speed for more than 30 seconds or total running time on a mechanic's service pate to make servicing easier.

Lap Times
Good for track days or way-points. The Beemer's 2D dash can record up to 100 lap times which you can then review. This is nothing new in itself (Aprilia's RS250 was the first to offer this). The difference is the rider isn't forced to trigger it manually. You can buy a beacon and receiver from your BMW dealer that plugs straight in and gives you lap times accurate to within a thousandth of a second.

Programmable Shift Lights
Several bikes have a shift light but the HP2's dash has 8 (2 amber, 2 green and 4 red ones) and you can tell the dashboard when to light each one up. So they can come on progressively or all at once. You can also adjust how bright they are.

Average values:
It doesn't matter how many features you read explaining how little time we spend on fullthrottle or how much we use low RPM, there's still a bit of us that says "not me, I'm always on full chat". I know because I still do it myself but the reality is we hardly use all the throttle or the revs even on race tracks.

The HP2 Sport dash poves this by calculating the average throttle position speed and RPM you've used. You zero them just like a trip meter before you start than review them when ready, and if nothing else it should help persuade you that it's not all about top end power so the fact that you only have 130bhp shouldn't worry you as much.

Apart from all the wizzardly applied as standard optional extras like this 2D laptime receiver are also available.